A Meeting Sixty-Five Years In The Making

We see and read about this all the time: The leaders of two countries meet, and they chat about issues like trade, policies, strategy, and of course, how they can support each other’s countries (or at least that’s what we’re hoping they’re chatting about!). So, what was so different about last week’s meeting between North Korean Leader Kim Jong-un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in that made it so historic? For the first time in sixty-five years, a North Korean leader stepped onto South Korea soil. That’s right—for sixty-five years, North Korea and South Korea haven’t been what we’d like to call BFFs. In fact, there have been threats of war and ongoing tension ever since the Korean War was deemed over by the United States, who fought alongside South Korea, and the Soviet Union who fought alongside North Korea from 1950 to 1953. For the leaders of the two Koreas to come together—well—that’s huge! With the world watching, the two leaders signed the Panmunjom Declaration for Peace, Prosperity and Unification on the Korean Peninsula, a formal agreement promising a nuclear-free peninsula and an effort to officially end the Korean War.

North Korea Flag

South Korea Flag

So what happens now? Some are skeptical and wary of North Korean Leader Kim Jong-un (after all, he has broken past promises), while some world leaders are praising the two countries for their efforts toward peace. Only time will tell, but these first steps seem promising. Next up in this road to peace? US President Donald Trump plans to meet with North Korean Leader Kim Jong-un. When and where will this meeting take place? It hasn’t been shared yet, but we’ll be sure to keep you updated!

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